Anti-TCC screenshot

[Zon3r]

"I'm deeply uncomfortable with the thought of a program that would be transferred to our players' PCs secretly and take screenshots of their stuff without their knowledge or consent. Honestly, would you guys like that if we did that to you?
"
Anti TCC is doing pretty much that, just people don't know about it, so they don't complain, it's scanning is not restricted to the UT2004 folder. apparently. there should be a prompt asking if you allow it to scan outside the game folder, but i don't remember it seeing on ceonss

[Wormbo]

The way McGugi's any my screenshot sender tool work is roughly as follows:

1. Execute "shot" command on client, specifying a screenshot file name.
2. Use existing functionality to read the screenshot file. (this assumes the client uses the default screenshot folder)
3. Shrink the image to reduce the amount of data to transfer.
4. Use replication or TCP link to transfer image data.
5. Reassemble image data on the server and dump it in some text file in UserLogs folder.

In short: There's no way you can get screenshots from anything else than the game itself.

[EmanReleipS]

"I'm deeply uncomfortable with the thought of a program that would be transferred to our players' PCs secretly and take screenshots of their stuff without their knowledge or consent. Honestly, would you guys like that if we did that to you?
"
Anti TCC is doing pretty much that, just people don't know about it, so they don't complain, it's scanning is not restricted to the UT2004 folder. apparently. there should be a prompt asking if you allow it to scan outside the game folder, but i don't remember it seeing on ceonss

The fact that we're using Anti TCC is visible before you even connect to the server. There is also a message about Anti TCC when you connect to the server. We are very transparent about using it.

Anti tcc.png (364.68 KiB) Viewed 25782 times

The author of the screenshot mutator recommends renaming it so that cheaters won't be warned. Makes sense, but that would mean deceiving our players.

That does not answer the question if it is legal for us to receive screenshots from our players. That could be private data, which would require us to ask.


Anti TCC does not take screenshots, as Wormbo has said in this very thread.

Wormbo has also said here that Anti TCC does not scan outside your UT and the Windows Prefatch folder unless an admin wants to check files outside those, which would trigger the window you spoke of.

I don't know how the later Anti TCC versions may have changed this (that thread is from 2004). Wormbo, maybe you can shed some light onto this?

[Wormbo]

Whenever you configure Anti TCC to search outside the UT2004 and prefetch folder, the warning pops up and the user has to confirm before checks start. Anti TCC only provides the convenience feature for the user to auto-confirm the message. Server admins can also display a custom message that a user must acknowledge once (auto-confirmation is possible until the message changes).

The recommendation to rename the mutator may be related to the package name (which, may also make byte-hacking the client portion more difficult), but the mutator will be named MutScreenSender, and I think I reused that name because I think it's whitelisted.

[Miauz55555]

See Zoner all fine with AntiTcc. It's an excellent designed programme. And not something like the NHK.

The Screenshot sender is not on the Witelist, or at least when I look on this list. I don't find the official list from Epic.
But as server actor it should bypass the Witelist?
http://wiki.unrealadmin.org/WhiteListed_Mutators

[Wormbo]

I don't think you can treat the list on UA.org Wiki as "official". Note how the latest addition of mutators on that wiki page is from before the original Screen Sender mutator was even released.

Also, "server actor" isn't the magical solution to every thing. Once it needs to hook into certain parts of the game (e.g. Mutate commands), it will require a mutator and the server actor likely only adds it.

[Miauz55555]

Ah, i didn't look at the date and can't find an other list which was looking so structured and pretty.

Thank you for the short lesson. Now I have a simple question. When you have a Witelisted mutator can you create a new one with that name, other packages of course, and complete other functions? Sure it would not be cool.

[Wormbo]

The masterserver only ever sees the class name, not the package.

[Zon3r]

See Zoner all fine with AntiTcc. It's an excellent designed programme. And not something like the NHK.

I have no problems with AntiTCC, i wouldn't mind a more broad search for cheats.

[Dalyup!]

I don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said. I don't think this is a terrible idea but I'm a bit sceptical of its helpfulness in actually catching cheaters. Anyone know cases where it did?

Also, Joe, could you PM (if you haven't already) those who you think are cheating? Even if we add this mutator - or any other - people can cheat through unconventional means which are difficult to catch via a mutator.